It’s time for an allotment update for June 2022! We have definitely hit the warm, summer weather in the UK, with temperatures hitting 30°C this week. Most of my plants have been off to a bit of a slow start this year. Still, I’m hopeful that with warm weather this week and rain the next we will see some good growth! June has been busy at work with a “normal” exams season, but I have done my best to get up to the allotment once a fortnight. Ideally, I would go weekly to keep the weeds under control, but life is busy and I have the garden at home to maintain as well.
Last weekend we had a family outing to the allotment on Sunday morning. It was the first time that Wilbur was decently behaved and enjoyed himself, which made it a more enjoyable experience for Lucy and me. The key seems to be to go early before other people are around, and that way he doesn’t bark at people and run away!
Successes:
The rhubarb was glorious! It’s finished now, but I made some beautiful strawberry and rhubarb jam/compote.
The potatoes are growing well. The potatoes that I removed last year and stored over winter in our “Harry Potter” cupboard to then re-plant haven’t survived. However, there are lots of sneaky potato plants that have popped up from spuds that got left in the ground last year. The cover photo for this post is a pretty potato flower!
The leeks and onions are also doing well, and the beetroot doing okay, though it’s a bit small! I plan to succession sow more beetroot the next time I’m at the allotment.
Disappointments
I haven’t had much luck with squashes so far this season. The slugs have been ruthless and all but two of the plants direct-sown were eaten. Last weekend, I transplanted squash seedlings that I grew at home, and hopefully those will do a bit better. I have a selection of courgette (zucchini), pumpkin, marrow, and butternut squashes, but I’m not optimistic that they will be as productive as last year.
The yellow poll beans I planted were eaten. This is the last year I bother with beans as they are simply a free lunch for the slugs and snails!
Finally, I direct sowed swiss chard, perpetual spinach, and borage flowers, but I haven’t seen any signs of life yet!
Maintenance:
With a birthday garden centre voucher, I got a new hoe which is helping tackle the weeds!
Last weekend, as I planted the squashes, Lucy trimmed the overgrown path and added some more bark mulch to the paths. Wilbur helped.
Half of the allotment is currently fallow. I have covered it with plastic tarps to try and smother the weeds. The back part of the allotment has very poor soil and needs a lot of work before I can expect a good harvest. Eventually, we also want to enclose our plot with fencing, to help keep Wilbur in and rabbits out!
More Allotment Updates:
